One year after the III Milenio experience, Brasilian keyboard player Fabio Ribeiro decided to take a step higher in founding Blezqi Zatsaz. This power-trio played deliberately on the same ground as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, showing however a very strong personality and a flawless originality. The omnipresence of keyboards is a major feature of the classically written band's music, which can be compared to that of Solaris and some of the best Japanese combos (Deja Vu, Mugen…). "Rise And Fall Of Passional Sanity" (1991) is a little gem of symphonic Progressive rock.

The solo project of Owen Davis. Mesozoic combines instrumental Post Rock with ambient slush and stolen words to create something which is profoundly and decisively sound.
The years seem to drift by, flying overhead without us even noticing. People come and go, spin in and out of our lives like comets, dancing with the gravity of a billion distractions. We try to stay our course, we try to keep it all in perspective, but what hope did we ever truly have?

Guy Manning doesn't hide the fact that he has been very influenced by Jethro Tull, just as well given that his singing voice is not too dissimilar to a certain Mr Anderson and one could imagine Ian going back over his back catalogue and producing acoustic versions of old numbers that previously had been treated very differently. This shows a very different side of Guy's music. There is a warmth and depth to this music that makes it very special indeed.

One of the more curious acts in the Bay area group scene was a band (or collective) called One, or, more specifically 1, acquaintances of Paul Kantner and Grace Slick from Bolinas. A nine-piece ensemble including two female vocalists, they engaged in lengthy, drifting tunes that drew as much from raga as from rock, with touches of jazz and country. One member, Roger Crissinger, the only semi-known quantity, had previously enjoyed notoriety having been a member of the progressive rock group Pearls Before Swine. But the leader of the group was a mysterious man who didn't always sing so much as vocalise in his own unique way, often without words, who needed words…

With 1981's suitably named Allied Forces – their fourth worldwide release and fifth overall – the three members of Triumph put aside their differences and collaborated more seamlessly than ever before, fittingly delivering what is arguably the best album of their long career. Like the previous year's particularly intense Progressions of Power, and with the possible exception of a rather forgettable new track, "Ordinary Man," the pedestrian mid-paced rockers that had sometimes derailed previous Triumph albums were conspicuously absent here, replaced by snaggletoothed heavy metal carnivores courtesy of singing drummer Gil Moore, such as the opening "Fool for Your Love" and the unrelenting title track – both of them as thrilling as they were catchy.

First album by Quebec City prog rockers Third Wave Mansion. The sound, the choice of instruments and the general feel of this recording is very much inspired by the more classic prog rock era.

Lee Abraham's latest album - modern British Progressive rock with many luminaries from the progressive scene. Lee Abraham is a British bass player and multi instrumentalist. Was the bass player for Galahad from 2005 to 2009…

Progressive rock band Ad Astra returns with Surface of Last Scattering. Led by Doug Bowers (music), and Christopher Flynn (lyrics) the material is classic Ad Astra, with all the dreamy, melodic and cinematic elements that fans around the globe have learned to love over the years. However, this incarnation of the band mixes it up with adding elements of physics, stellar cartography and church liturgy that place this album somewhere in between the late 60's proto prog and the new generation of art rock…

With their recording contract with CBS now over, Titanic moved to the rather smaller Barclay records for the release of their fifth studio album in 1977. Once again, the line up was to alter significantly, with John Williamson and Andrew Poulton both departing. Back came John Lorck on drums, to be joined by the wonderfully named bassist Saintclair Brunet. More significantly though, the line up once again boasted a keyboard player in Claude Chamboissier. While the album displays some of the pop rock traits which hampered the disappointing "Ballad of a rock 'n' roll loser", it does at least see the band attempting to turn the clock back towards their fine early albums. The opening "Blue train" is a pleasant but largely prosaic piece of guitar rock…

Light plays Art-Rock with influences of Ekseption and Nice and integrates jazzy brass elements like Colosseum and Latin-American percussion work similar to Santana. Light were formed in the town of Gouda in the 1960s and toured through the provinces of the Netherlands in the late 60s. The band members were Adri Vergeer (piano, organ, mellotron, keyboards, vocals), Gerard Steenbergen (acoustic guitar), Joop Slootjes (bass), Hans de Bruin (saxophone, flute) and Sjaco van der Speld (drums, vocals). Eddy Barclay brought the band - then called "Light Formation" - to the attention of producer Bert Schouten. In 1972 "The Story of Moses" was published, having been recorded at Phonogram Studio in Hilversum…

Spanish group Medina Azahara was formed in 1979 by singer Manuel Martinez, guitarist Miguel Galan, drummer José Antonio Molina, bassist Manuel Molina, and keyboardist Pablo Rabadan. That same year, the band signed with CBS, issuing a self-titled album produced by Gonzalo Garcia Pelayo that featured their first hit, a song called "Paseando por la Mezquita." That album was followed by 1980's La Esquina del Viento and 1982's Andalucia. Around that time, the band started being mentioned as one of the major parts of a local movement known as Rock Andaluz. Before issuing 1995's Caravana Espanola, Pablo Rabadan left the act, replaced by keyboardist Antonio Fernandez.

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of the classic 1972 self titled album by Home. The band featured a line up of Mick Stubbs (guitar, piano, lead vocals), Laurie Wisefield (lead guitar, vocals), Cliff Williams (bass, vocals) and Mick Cook (drums) and formed in London in 1970. Signing to CBS Records they recorded their debut album in 1971. Their second self-titled album was released in 1972 and included the classic track Western Front . This Esoteric reissue has been re-mastered from the original master tapes and restores the original album artwork.

Paradigms is an honest attempt to expand musical horizons, capturing the essence of the unique prog vibe by focusing on the genre's most important aspect: variety. Featured musicians on the album include drummer Craig Blundell (Frost*/Steven Wilson), bassist Kristoffer Gildenlöw (ex-Pain of Salvation), guests Derek Sherinian (ex-Dream Theater), Alex Argento on keyboards, and the lovely jazz vocalist Houry Dora Apartian. Project by: guitarist and founder Shant Hagopian…

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Matching Mole features 2013 remastering and the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD2 format (compatible with standard CD players). Includes bonus tracks. Maybe it's because Wyatt relinquished his firm upper hand on the songwriting (everybody in the band pens material) and production (Robert Fripp takes over), but this is a distinct comedown from Matching Mole's debut.

Ian Carr records have long been difficult to find in the U.S., but tend to be worth the search. At the time that this LP was recorded, Carr was leading a quintet called Nucleus and was very much under the influence of fusion-era Miles Davis. With Brian Smith adding some capable tenor and soprano, the keyboards of Geoff Castle, electric bassist Bill Kristian and drummer Roger Sellers, Carr performs four lengthy group originals, including the 16-minute title cut. The dated music sometimes rambles, but does include some worthy trumpet solos and interesting vamps.